As every serious golfer understands, putting is at least half of the game of golf. Simple arithmetic bears this conclusion out in that since two putts are allowed for each hole, a par seventy-two course allows half the strokes for putting. Birdies are generally made by using only one of the allotted two putts on a hole.
Among top players, shadings in shot-making ability are faint, and it is the putting game which often determines who wins a given tournament. For this reason, accomplished golfers spend a great deal of time working on their putting game.
Most secrets of good putting includes admonitions to move the clubhead low along the ground, to keep the putter square to the line of flight at impact, and to strike the ball on the clubhead's sweet spot. Most golfers practice these rules during a putting practice session.
Many golfer's use different stances for different putts. For example, a golfer on any given round may employ a square-to-square stroke, an inside-to-outside stroke, and an outside-to-inside stroke. Still further, many golfers use different style putters, ranging from a blade putter to a barrel-shaped putter. However, during any of these strokes or using any of the different putters, the ball should be struck on the club's sweet spot.
Since putting is such an important part of the game of golf, the art contains many examples of putters. While the art contains several different style putters, all of the presently available putters have a common drawback in that it is somewhat difficult to ensure that the golfer will strike the ball with the sweet spot each time he putts a ball. This is especially true if the golfer changes stances and strokes during a round. Even if the sweet spot is marked, it may still be difficult for a golfer to impact a ball with this marked spot.
The sweet spot of a golf club head is the center of percussion of that clubhead. The center of percussion is defined in terms of a rigid body, and is defined as the point of application of the resultant of all the forces tending to cause the body to rotate about a certain axis. The center of percussion is the point at which a suspended body may be struck without causing any pressure on the axis passing through the point of suspension. Thus, if a rigid body, free to move about a point O, and the line of force is perpendicular to the line from O to the center of mass, then the initial motion of the body is a rotation about the center of percussion relative to O. If a ball is struck at the center of percussion, no "sting" is felt if the club is held on the center of oscillation. If the ball is struck off of the center of percussion, there may be a twisting force exerted on the club.
As above mentioned, one of the basic tenants of good putting technique is to keep the clubhead square to the line of flight at impact. Thus, since striking the ball with a club at a location spaced from the sweet spot may tend to twist the club, it is important for the putter to permit the golfer to strike the sweet spot against the ball, no matter what the stroke, the stance or the type of putter is being used.
While many of the presently-available putters have a marked sweet spot, in fact, the sweet spot is so small that it is difficult to hit. Even further to this, striking a ball off of the sweet spot may cause the club to twist in different ways depending on how and where the ball is struck relative to the sweet spot. This rotation of the club may cause a putt to be errant for no apparent reason so that a golfer cannot even truly analyze the stroke to correct it.
Thus, it is extremely important for any golf club to permit the ball to be impacted at the clubhead's sweet spot. However, due to the precise nature and the importance of the putting portion of the game, it is even more critical that the putter have a sweet spot that is easy to hit in a consistent manner, no matter what stance and swing is used. It is in this area that prior art putters fall short.
Still further, the club shaft of these putters is attached to the clubhead in a manner which may even unbalance the putter, especially if the ball is struck off of the sweet spot. Often, this connection of the head to the shaft is such as to actually interfere with the putting stroke, especially if the putt must be made from near the fringe of a green where the grass may be of different lengths. Still further, the connection between the clubhead and the shaft of many prior art putters can loosen over time thereby further vitiating even a proper stroke.
Therefore, there is a need for a putter which permits a golfer to consistently strike the ball on the sweet spot of the clubhead, and which has the clubhead connected to the club shaft in a manner which is secure and is not likely to disturb or vitiate the golfer's putting stroke.